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Television Media

Firefly Coming to DVD 229

Posted by CmdrTaco from the insert-mandarin-quote-here dept.
Kaypro writes "According to the scoop over at Ain't it Cool, it seems that Fox has decided that there's not enough viewers to keep the Firefly series on the air, but somehow there's enough fans to make money off DVD sales. Go figure. Included in the set will be the entire season plus unaired episodes and the original pilot in full 16:9 format. Extras I assume are included as well. No release date has been set as of yet." The missing episodes will be nice. In order will be nice. Such a good show. The last couple of episodes were just awesome.
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Firefly Coming to DVD More

Firefly Coming to DVD

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  • Its a shame (Score:3, Insightful)

    by taeric ( 204033 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:09AM (#5721269)
    I know a lot of people were put off by the first few episodes not being that great. Personally, I liked the entire series, I was just not around much while it was on. I just can't understand why they would put it on during a Friday night.

    Can someone explain the demographic they are shooting for with that time-slot?
    • The "Sci Fi Friday" demographic. They may have been trying to compete with Sci Fi's lineup. I think a few subscription channels have science fiction shows on Fridays (could be wrong as I don't have any).

      It does seem like a terrible time, especially at 7PM my time. The people that may have watched it otherwise who get off of work around 5PM would have to race home to watch it (and I assume do whatever it is other people do when they first get home).

      I don't think they are going for the market that actually

    • Re:Its a shame (Score:4, Insightful)

      by jimhill ( 7277 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @12:15PM (#5721877) Homepage
      Once upon a time there was a little show called "The X Files". It had a quiet little time slot on Friday nights and against all odds, it became fairly successful. The numbers were small but the viewers were passionate and Fox said "Cool! Fanboys stay home on Friday nights for skiffy shows!" So in their finite wisdom they moved "The X Files" to Sundays and have sent skiffy-related show after show after show to die on Fridays because it turns out that "The X Files" was special.

      Admittedly, some of the shows that have died have done so deservedly ("Freakylinks", anyone?) but programs like "Millennium" and "Firefly" and "Strange Luck" deserved better than to wither and die on the Friday vine.

  • Fox +1 (Score:5, Funny)

    by kewsh ( 655090 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:10AM (#5721275) Homepage
    I give FOX a thumbs up for this. I mean they could have release Joe Millionaire on dvd....

  • Additional Info and Help for blooper clip (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Kaypro ( 35263 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:13AM (#5721288)
    Excerpt from AICN:

    "Further to the piece about Firefly coming to DVD at some point, the UK Sci-Fi channel have now added the series to their listing for May. According the listings here they have it on Sundays at 7pm starting with the first part of Serenity on May 18th. In their forums they have also confirmed they'll be showing the unaired episodes!! YEAH!!!"

    Also I have a blooper quicktime clip of FireFly which is pretty funny, but more often scary. Weighing in at 57.9MB, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to host it on a BitTorrent link for our fellow Slashdotians. Reply below.

  • Ok Fox... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by 13Echo ( 209846 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:13AM (#5721291) Homepage Journal
    Ok, Fox...

    Where's MILLENNIUM!?

    • Could someone fill me in on how this economics of the TV->DVD market work? I just can't understand why Fox would leave a show in their vault when an intern could have it burned to DVDs and ready to sell in a week or two.

      Millennium was so loved that one of the major papers in Vancouver published fanfiction to finish off the series after it was cancelled. If Fox had have released the DVDs right away, they would have sold tonnes. Now I'd like to think it'd at least be worth their while -- Millennium is on

      • Re:Damn Straight! (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        re TV->DVD market -- part 3, profit!!, is questionable

        First, when Millennium was ended, DVDs were not really all the rage, esp. full TV series releases. The cost to go to DVD was probably far higher than it is now. The transition to go to DVD was not on people's minds immediately (see third).

        Second, Fox probably was trying to sell the series to some sort of syndication like market, for reruns, which is the traditional faire. They tend to make more money this way.

        Third, if they killed the series so

  • Unfortunately.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by phocuz ( 445317 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:17AM (#5721307) Journal
    I live in a backwater communist country (read Sweden), so I haven't had the chance to see it yet. We're usually a year or two behind everyone else. It's quite annoying actually, since you usually manage to spoil half of the episodes just by reading stuff on the net.

    Anyone with a well-paid job in the states who want to switch lives with a law-student in Stockholm? I have a cute girl-friend that would be included. Anyone?
    • live in a backwater communist country (read Sweden), so I haven't had the chance to see it yet. We're usually a year or two behind everyone else.

      Yes, and it's actually a common reason for why people outside the US download TV-rips and other stuff, because then they are "up to date" when they talk to people from the US, or "ahead" when talking to people at home. "I saw [series] yesterday, it's damn cool, you should see in when it comes on TV here...", you sound pretty l33t.

      The cinemas are starting to fig
      • The problem is with tv shows is you never know if they are going to get pulled like firefly did. Did Firefly even make it to 12 episodes ?, tv channels like to plan out their schedules in advance so shows are only going to be sold by the series, not show by show. Thats why we in europe have to wait a year or two (especially for brand new shows).

    • Re:Unfortunately.. (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Sweden is not communist.

      Please don't lie to the Americans, they're already ignorant enough as it is.

      Thank you.

  • This is a nice thing about DVD's... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by bitmason ( 191759 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:18AM (#5721315) Homepage
    It's apparently cost effective to release them for series that weren't on the air long and which will therefore be difficult to find even in syndication (which has traditionally at least demanded that shows be on the air for three years or so to sell). The other short-lived Fox show I'd like to see come out on DVD is Action.

    Fox didn't handle Firefly particularly well but I'm sort of doubtful that was the reason for its demise at the end of the day. I sort of enjoyed it and found the characters generally appealing, but the whole literal Western in space thing took a REALLY massive suspension of disbelief. The whole economic system the show portrayed just didn't make sense (e.g. paying for an interstellar trip by hauling some cattle around). Etc. And it was reputedly a very expensive show to make.

    • Re:This is a nice thing about DVD's... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Scrameustache ( 459504 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @11:19AM (#5721580) Homepage Journal
      Fox didn't handle Firefly particularly well but I'm sort of doubtful that was the reason for its demise at the end of the day.

      Seriously? You don't think that airing it on alternating weeks on a random time slot (8pm, 12:05am, 12:20am) is the reason for its demise?
      How about airing episodes out of order so that they would talk about stuff that was supposed to have happened but we haven't seen yet.

      How about hyping the girl in the box for a whole summer and then cancelling the series before even ever showing the girl-in-a-box pilot?

      Someone at Fox wanted that show to fail. I dunno what they were shooting in their veins at the time, but they did everything in their power to make that show fail (12:20am! I kid you not!).
      • Someone at Fox wanted that show to fail. I dunno what they were shooting in their veins at the time, but they did everything in their power to make that show fail (12:20am! I kid you not!).

        Kinda like Futurama gets the timeslot of death after Football? I seem to remember something similar happening to Babylon five later in the fourth season (I actually thought it ended there. I didn't realize there was another until I saw it on TNT) but I don't remember for sure if that was FOX.


        • Someone at Fox wanted that show to fail. I dunno what they were shooting in their veins at the time, but they did everything in their power to make that show fail (12:20am! I kid you not!).

          Kinda like Futurama gets the timeslot of death after Football? I seem to remember something similar happening to Babylon five later in the fourth season (I actually thought it ended there. I didn't realize there was another until I saw it on TNT) but I don't remember for sure if that was FOX.

          Ah! If I wanted to wat

          • > My theory is that its the result of internal wars. Vice Presidents torpedoing the shows of other vice presidents in their lil' dog-eat-dog corporate games. Pettyness seems the only reasonable explication.

            That's my hypothesis as well. You see the same thing with IT projects at big corporations. The corporate ladder gets narrower as you ascend, and the climbers feel a need to kick the competition off. You do that by making sure your pet projects "win" and the competition's pet projects get cancelled a


    • > The whole economic system the show portrayed just didn't make sense (e.g. paying for an interstellar trip by hauling some cattle around).

      Ever stop to think how much those ships that haul bananas around cost to acquire and operate?

      • >> The whole economic system the show portrayed just didn't make sense (e.g. paying for an interstellar trip by hauling some cattle around).
        >Ever stop to think how much those ships that haul bananas around cost to acquire and operate?

        I assumed that genetic diversity might justify moving a herd of cattle to a new planet. Think of it like importing horses to the new world or new world crops to Ireland.
        • Blockquoth the poster:

          I assumed that genetic diversity might justify moving a herd of cattle to a new planet.

          Um, wouldn't you just ship the genetic material? Ova and sperm take up a lot less mass than full-grown cattle...

          • > Um, wouldn't you just ship the genetic material? Ova and sperm take up a lot less mass than full-grown cattle...

            Probably so.

            What amazes me is that so many people are willing to suspend disbelief regarding a psychic girl and interstellar travel, but then balk at the details of a fictional economy. What gives? Do we tend to nit pick the parts that almost conform to reality, while recognizing that the rest is so fantastical that it would be pointless and silly to criticize it as unrealistic?

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • The whole economic system the show portrayed just didn't make sense (e.g. paying for an interstellar trip by hauling some cattle around). Etc

      Nobody payed for a trip by hauling cattle. They (the crew of the ship) was payed TO HAUL cattle. Because they owner had sold the cattle to someone on another planet (and as i recall that wasn't strictly speaking allowed)

    • paying for an interstellar trip by hauling some cattle around

      Interplanetary. Perhaps even between two moons of the same planet; Firefly is set in a single terraformable-body rich system, with no suggestion of FTL. Plus there's no suggestion of flight costs or anything, plus it's fairly clear that decent medical facilities such as cloning are somewhat rarer than servicable spacecraft.

      Frankly, I think it takes a hell of a lot less suspension of disbelief than Star Trek, or B5, and especially crap like And

  • Meaning, is Fox the releasing mechanism or did they license the distribution rights to someone else and they're releasing it?

    Kinda like Farscape. Sci-Fi Licensed season 1 to someone else, until they saw we actually bought the things.

    Of course Fox will only make money off the one release since they were short sighted enough to cancel a decent show.

    It wasn't emmy winning material mind you, but it had a lot of potential and was really getting good near the end (Which, irnoically enough was the fricken begi
    • Kinda like Farscape. Sci-Fi Licensed season 1 to someone else, until they saw we actually bought the things.

      I don't think they do own the rights to any season dvd's, they certainly don't in the releases here in the UK.

      In fact that sci fi don't won the rights to DVD's was probably one of the things that helped make up sci fi's mind to cancel the show.

  • 'Heart of Gold' and 'Trash' scripts (Score:4, Informative)

    by shine-shine ( 529700 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:24AM (#5721340)
    The scripts of the three unaried episodes were auctioned on ebay and two of them were later released by the buyer. Go grab Heart of Gold' [fireflyfans.net] and 'Trash' [fireflyfans.net].
  • This confirms a rumor I heard (probably on /.) some time ago. I loved the show, I thought its juxtaposition of high tech and low tech fringe society was excellent. Not enough people gave it a chance. Those that did after I raved about it loved it, then Fox yanked it so that their stupid teen cop show spew could get the time slot.

    I'll be buying one, thats for damn sure.

  • Simple (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:25AM (#5721348)
    Stop and think about it for a second.

    Cost to produce new TV shows and air them? Lots

    Cost to release existing shows on a cheap meduim? Not a lot.

    It's very simple.

  • I think I was right.. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by beldraen ( 94534 ) <(moc.liamg) (ta) (risialptnom.dahc)> on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:27AM (#5721354)
    I had made a comment that the issue isn't that Fox couldn't/wasn't doing well with Firefly, it was that Fox new that reality T.V. had more bang for the buck. Since it appears that Fox tried to tell Joss what do to and he wouldn't, they were more than prepared to tank the show in favor of all this rubbish that has been coming down the pike. Producing a DVD for an "unviable" series I think proves that Fox knew full well the series had and has a following.
  • Figures that I've been waiting for months for the DVDs of that to ship, and now that they're being released on Tuesday the show is hitting the airwaves again.

    To keep this comment on-topic:

    FOX would just plain make a freakin mint, if they released all of their cancelled-but-loved-by-a-fanatic-minority shows on DVD. Where the HELL is my "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" DVD set, FOX???

  • Buy the DVDs, win a TV show? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Xenex ( 97062 ) <xenex&opinionstick,com> on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:39AM (#5721410) Journal
    "...it seems that Fox has decided that there's not enough viewers to keep the Firefly series on the air, but somehow there's enough fans to make money off DVD sales. Go figure."

    I'm going to be uncharacteristically non-cynical for a moment, and suggest an alternate theory. Perhaps Fox will see how many DVD sets are sold, and if sales are surprisingly high, continue the series.

    TV production houses now undoubtedly see DVD sales as a huge revenue earner, most likely beginning to rival their traditional advertising and subscription income. Now, even if the series doesn't cover costs while being broadcast, the money from DVD sales could potentially more than make up for that. In that scenario, a series like FireFly would have a huge chance at success - but it would all depend on how much the fanbase truly does value the show.

    The future of TV could become little more than DVD advertising, with the episodes shown on the air little more than fodder to lure people in. DVD sets then become the real product, and are sold riddled with bonuses, extra scenes, and eventually, as in this case, extra episodes.

    So, maybe Fox will think there's enough viewers - if you cough up for the DVDs.

    (Then again, what do I know? I've never watched FireFly, I have no experience with American cable TV at all! Armchair analysis is fun!)
    • I'm going to be uncharacteristically non-cynical for a moment, and suggest an alternate theory. Perhaps Fox will see how many DVD sets are sold, and if sales are surprisingly high, continue the series.

      Don't count on it... Since the episodes are already made, the DVD's cost them next to nothing to produce. They'll probably end up making more money selling the "extra" episodes on DVD than they would have by putting the shows on the air.
      • "They'll probably end up making more money selling the "extra" episodes on DVD than they would have by putting the shows on the air."

        My point exactly.

        Like I said, if more money is to be made in selling DVDs than broadcasting, broadcasting could simply become a means to convince people to buy DVDs.
        • Like I said, if more money is to be made in selling DVDs than broadcasting, broadcasting could simply become a means to convince people to buy DVDs

          The only reason that they can make more money from the DVD's is that the show's run on TV was a commercial failure. At this point nobody will pay much to advertise during the show, so they're cutting their losses by selling directly to the public. With a successful show, they can make a LOT more money by putting it on the air, selling advertising, and later s
    • Nathan Fillon, who played Captain Reynolds, signed for a pilot on another show in the fall. So I think that pretty much puts the final nail in the coffin.

      But I think you're overestimating the importance of this. Fox already has these episodes in the can. It has nothing to lose by releasing them on DVD.

      Staking the success of a brand new season on DVD sales would be a huge risk.
      • Nathan Fillon, who played Captain Reynolds, signed for a pilot on another show in the fall. So I think that pretty much puts the final nail in the coffin.

        This is a good point, except that the vast majority of pilots are never picked up, so he could easily be available in time to film new episodes for a resurrected Firefly.

        Of course, I consider this to be pie in the sky, Fillion pilot or not, but we can all dare to dream.

    • Well, Futurama got a DVD release, despite its canning.

      I read an article that said that last year's TV series video market was $2 billion US and the owners are starting to tap into this.

      FOX has been notably proactive in this, most of my TV series DVD collection is FOX: Angel, Buffy (3 seasons so far), M*A*S*H (3 seasons so far), Simpsons (two seasons so far) and Futurama.

      As evidenced by a little slip of paper they included in some of the sets, they have more, I don't have their Malcom in the Middle, X-Fil
    • ...even if the series doesn't cover costs while being broadcast, the money from DVD sales could potentially more than make up for that.

      For the most part, TV shows don't cover their costs from broadcast revenues anymore. Pretty much all "traditional" TV shows (i.e. sitcoms like Friends, etc) cost more to produce than they make in revenue. The producers of these shows are banking on putting the shows into syndication, where they sell the rights to re-broadcast them to the local network affiliates in each TV

  • Commentary Tracks (Score:3, Funny)

    by Momomoto ( 118483 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:42AM (#5721428) Homepage
    Adam Baldwin (Jayne) said on the Fox Firefly message board that one of the commentary tracks was going to be the entire cast, plus Joss and Tim Minear (one of the head writers), drinking beer and generally mocking their characters.

    Good times, good times.

  • bah, I already have the complete Outlaw Star (Score:3, Funny)

    by infonography ( 566403 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:45AM (#5721441) Homepage
    Atleast the stories in Outlaw Star made sense.

  • Fired up about Firefly (Score:3, Insightful)

    by genessy ( 587377 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @10:55AM (#5721484)
    I see a lot of people knocking 'Firefly' around. They call it a ripoff or not entertaining enough or confusing. Wake up and smell the cow manure blended with starship exhaust.

    What isn't a ripoff these days? Most creators of art even take the time to admit and thank those that influenced their work. Space westerns have been around much longer than, oh say 'Cowboy Bebop' for example. Robert Heinlein and other authors have explored that genre before. So what? If an old idea is done well, it can bring enjoyment to new people.

    It may not be interesting enough to you. Everyone is entitled to their opinions ('specialy if they're congruent with mine). I find it quite interesting however. Science fiction blended with sociological aspects appeals to quite a lot of people. Remember, it was fringe groups that got many science fiction shows the recognition they deserve. Examples: 'The X-Files', 'Farscape', 'Buffy', just to name a few of the more recent.

    Confusing? Okay, I don't have a better answer for this. You're confused and you read Slashdot? Do you have an interpreter?
    • As I understand it, the first episode broadcast on television WASN'T the first episode, but something quickly hashed together to please Fox. Otherwise, the series would not have aired, period.

      Maybe if it had aired as Joss has originally intended, it would have been okay. As it was, well, I thought it was some of the worst tripe ever on television.

      I sat down to watch Firefly with high expectations. I consider Buffy one of the best shows ever on television. Great writing, a superb ensemble cast, good mu

  • Fox Fhows (Score:2, Funny)

    by xintegerx ( 557455 )
    It has been demonstrated on /. in previous posts that FOX will step all over other TV entities that start with the trademark letter 'F' (I'm sure they get royalties everytime fuck is abbreviated to F because FOX is rich since they own the new millinnium. Does "21st century FOX" ring a bell?... And you thought only stadiums had blatant advertising money going to them..)

    FOX buys the F(TM)ing shows then doesn't want the association anymore. How F(TM)'ed up is that?

    1) Family Guy. 2) Futurama. 3) Firefly
  • The last couple of episodes were just awesome.

    The last episode shown was the pilot because Fox thought the best way to promote a new show was first scrapping the pilot then simply showing the first episode with no introduction then giving the show the friday 8pm death-slot then changing the order of the episodes and some baseball thrown in half of the time just in case that someone's still watching

    It got canceled - oh really?

  • It will be shown in the UK (Score:3, Informative)

    by Snaller ( 147050 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @11:24AM (#5721606) Journal
    British SciFI have bought all of Firefly and will start showing it next month. Originally they were planning to show it in the same order as in the US, but when fans (from across the pond) started emailing them about the importance of NOT showing the pilot LAST (like Fox did!) they agreed to show the series in the right order (fancy that).

    http://www.uk.scifi.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3 516 [scifi.com]
  • At first, we were very tempted to not watch it, given the western look-n-feel. We watched the pilot, however, and didn't miss an episode since.

    If they want to know why no one is watching it, perhaps they should consider that it hasn't been on in months?

    Malachi
  • Now if Ground Force, and Northern Exposure would be released on DVD I'd be happy.
  • to see a show this good tank after a dozen episodes when there's so much crap that keeps going. Ah well. I'll buy the DVD's and hope he does something else with it. Heck, maybe he could sell it to Dark Horse as a comic book series. I'd buy it.

    • Part of the problem is that they keep on playing musical chairs with the viewing times. Most of the 'dumb' programs get aired at the same time every week. Try this with your programs for 'people who think a bit more' (I couldn't find a more PC way of putting it :/ ) and you have to to hunt around to see where Fox has put it this week, or what football match is being shown instead. This is part of the reason I gave cable the boot. What I do want to see is either killed off just as I am getting into it and th

  • old news... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Artifex ( 18308 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @12:47PM (#5722063) Journal
    It was announced on the Firely: Immediate Assistance mailing list some time ago:
    2003-03-26 15:29:49 Firefly on DVD? (articles,slashback) (rejected)

  • Why does Fox have to cancel all its good shows? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by etcshadow ( 579275 ) on Sunday April 13, 2003 @04:00PM (#5722993)
    It's really very sad and disturbing. Fox honestly seems to develop some of the best and most original shows that hit TV these days, along with some of the absolute worst crap. Why do they nearly always choose the crap over the good stuff?

    Firefly is a great example. Do I have to mention Futurama? What about Andy Richter being taken off the air for this godawful crap "The Pits"?

    *Sigh*.
  • ...and get them to do this with Farscape!

    It's a great idea... they are not completely abandoning their fans (like SciFi channel is), since the show will still be available in some form.
  • Every time I tuned into the last timeslot I saw it on there was some other dumb crap on.

    Oh well. Maybe this will get me to cave in and finally buy a DVD player.

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